“As long as I count for something, Italy does not access the Mes. I can sign it in blood.” Thus Giorgia Meloni in the Vespa studios for her first television interview. That thanks to the period of the year is also a balance of this handful of weeks at the helm of Palazzo Chigi. “I’m not a person who gets scared, the only thing that scares me is to disappoint”. And again: “The Italians don’t expect you to perform miracles, they know that the situation is difficult and that it can change from one moment to the next. They expect what you do not for personal gain but to do what’s right. I want to do what is right, in the interest of the nation”. And precisely in conversation with the journalist Rai, the Prime Minister announces her trip to Kiev in the first months of 2023. “I have to hear from Zelensky – she said – our diplomatic offices are in contact to hear from each other before Christmas. I want to congratulate the Ukrainian people, especially at this moment: this is the time when all the cultures of the world celebrate the light, and they live in the dark”.
The Mess question
On this front, the premier is peremptory: “As long as I count for something, Italy does not access the Mes, I can sign it in blood”. She then explains that the reform of the Mes “is not a big issue, Parliament will discuss it. If we are the only ones who do not approve the reform, we also block the others”. In short, in any case “whether the reform is approved or not” Italy will not ask for access to the mechanism.
The role of Italy
“Italy – continued the premier – is no longer the eternal Cinderella, if not for the perception of itself. I’m traveling the world and I had no idea how much desire there is for Italy in the world“. Then she added a personal note. “Among the very exciting things that have happened in recent weeks, I was very struck by a lady who sent me a note in which it was written ‘I was about to close but you won the elections and I have decided not to close anymore’, On the one hand it terrified me because you understand how much impact you have on the choices of others but thank goodness he also tells you that there is an Italy that wants to believe, wants to fight with you, wants to go forward, that doesn’t want to feel like an eternal Cinderella because it isn’t”.
The gas and the anti-speculation shield
When asked about the question of the gas price, Meloni said that “the ceiling on the price of gas is an insurance against the surge in speculation”. Thus the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a guest of Porta a Porta. “The ceiling is high, but I must say that the proposal made by the Commission was a ceiling of 275. We have reached a ceiling of 180, very close to the Italian proposal. The fact that Europe says: we will not accept excessive price increases has in itself a calming effect, we will not go back to the low prices of a few years ago but not even to the prices of August”. The premier indicates among the “main objectives in these 5 years” that of becoming a “hub” for energy “for the whole of Europe”. Speaking of renewable sources, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has launched the proposal for a “Renewable Stock Exchange detached from the TTF (the Title Transfer Facility, i.e. the reference market for the exchange of natural gas in continental Europe, ed.). We need to diversify.”
Basic income
“Decent jobs exist and are to be found”: We would like to create “a perfect world where everyone finds the job of their dreams but if you refuse to work with decent work because you only accept the job of your dreams you cannot expect the State to keep you with taxes paid by those who took a job that was often not the dream job”. The premier then added: “We will reform the whole matter of basic income. But do you think that now those who benefit from the income are not bound to stay in Italy or were there incomes that were not calculated or that accumulated and other very curious things?”.